Container construction



June 19, LAVER CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 7, 1951 v z 7 W M r Mam M 2 r u R Y M, g a p f I 5 m m 2hr m M K 4 6 Z m 7 iv 4 2 i 2 (J J l J a 5 Z 4 5. z z m I y a 5 v. 1 2 M j. .I/VI. 5. 51% Z 2 L z i H m v2 M a L M 7 a 2 5 4 2 6 7 a H H i 2 2 33! 3 33 2 2 2 w w E M v E [N June 19, 1956 LAVER 2,751,113

CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 7, 195! 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 :5 4a K? 3 46 r y W l5 if k ii 6 ii I INVENTOR. I 5'9 Jana/q 414/0 r ha j MQ z CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION Donald G. Laver, Inkster, Mich.

Application February 7, 1951, erial No. 209,804

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-32) This invention relates to containers and more particularly to a construction and method of fabricating a cardboard or corrugated board carton or container especially adapted for shipping and storing merchandise of heavy weight.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved construction for a container or carton which will enable stacking of heavy merchandise such as wire cables, tubing and similar material. More particularly, it is an object to provide a carton construction having fiat upper and lower walls and in which the sides of the carton will form a continuous four-ply wall, thereby providing a high degree of columnar strength to resist the weight of high stacks of heavy material.

It is another object to provide an improved carton of the character described, and a method for constructing the same, which provides for a substantial saving in material and greatly decreases the cost of fabrication. In particular, it is an object to provide a container construction in which the body portion and the cover portion of the container are of substantially identical design, and in which the blanks from which these portions are fabricated are of such outline as to produce a minimum amount of waste stock.

It is also an object to provide an improved container having the above described characteristics, and which is adaptable for storing in closely adjacent stacks, so that a maximum number of such stacks may be stored in a minimum amount of space. In particular, it is an object to provide a container of octagonal or hexagonal shape so that similar containers may be stacked on all sides.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of my improved container, with the body portion and the cover portion shown in separated position.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of Figure l, but showing the body and cover in assembled position.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the blank used to form the body portion or the cover portion of the container shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a plurality of the containers in stacked position.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the body portion of another form of my improved container.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 5, but showing the cover portion in assembled position with the body portion; and

Figure 7 is a plan view of the blank used in forming the body portion or the cover portion of the container shown in Figures 5 and 6.

The container of this invention is preferably constructed of fibre board, cardboard, corrugated board or similar material, although it will be understood that the principles of this invention are equally applicable to other types of materials. The container comprises in general a body portion 11 and a cover portion 12 which are of substantially identical shape, but in which the outside dimensions differ sufl'lciently to allow the side walls of these two portions to overlap. In the illustrated embodiment 2,751,138 Patented June 19, 1956 the side walls of the cover portion 12 are shown as being in overlapping relation with the side walls of body portion 11, although it will be obvious that the reverse con struction may be used. In the modification of Figures 1 through 4, the container is of octagonal shape, the side walls each having eight sections of approximately equal width. However, the sections of the cover and of the body side walls are not all of the same thickness. In the body portion, sections 13 having three plies of material alternate with sections 14 having but a single ply. This alternate construction of the side wall sections is carried out in the cover portion 12, wherein single-ply sections 15 alternate with triple-ply sections 16. However, the radial dimensions of the body and cover portions differ slightly, so that when the two portions are assembled the tripleply sections of the cover side wall can only be adjacent the single-ply sections of the body side wall. The dimensions are preferably such that if it is attempted to place the three-ply sections in adjacent relation, these sections will interfere with each other to prevent the closing of the container. As a result, when the top and body are in telescopic relation a continuous four-ply side Wall results, thus imparting a high degree of columnar strength to the container.

The top and body portions are constructed from substantially identical blanks, one of which is illustrated in Figure 3. It will be noted that the outline of this blank is substantially square, so that the blanks may be produced with a minimum wastage of stock. In the drawing, solid interior lines represent cutting lines and dot-dash lines represent folding o-r scoring lines. The blank comprises a central panel 17 of octagonal shape which forms the main panel of either the body portion or the cover portion. Four elongated slots 18 are cut out along alternate edges of panel 17, these slots being located immediately inwardly of the fold lines 19 and centrally located with respect to the sides formed by these fold lines. Extending outwardly from fold lines 19 are four relatively long flaps 21 having parallel side edges 22 cut perpendicularly to fold lines 19. Flap 21 comprises a panel 23 which in its final position is the outer panel of the triple-ply section, and a panel 24 which in its final position is the inner panel of the three-ply section, these panels being separated by a double fold line 25, 26 parallel to fold line 19. The spacing between fold lines 25 and 26 is such as to permit the inward folding of panel 24 over panel 23, thus positioning these two panels in overlapping relation, and leaving a space therebetween approximately equal to the thickness of the stock. Panel 24 has inwardly tapered edges 26 and an outer edge 27 substantially parallel to fold lines 19 and 25. The height of panel 24, that is the distance between fold line 25 and edge 27, is such that when panel 23 is folded upwardly so as to be perpendicular to panel 17 and panel 24 is folded inwardly into overlapping relation with panel 23, edge 27 will snap into position within slot 18.

Between the long flaps 21 are formed an alternate series of four relatively short flaps 28, these short flaps extending outwardly from fold lines 29 which form four of the edges of octagonal panel 17. Each of the short flaps 28 comprises a main panel 31 of rectangular outline and wing panels 32 along the opposite side edges 33 of the main panel. The outer edge 34- of panel 31 is parallel to its inner edge 29, and the distance between these two edges is such that the height of panel 31 is slightly greater than the height of panel 23. The outer edge 35 of each wing panel 32 is also parallel to fold line 29 but is slightly closer thereto, the normal distance between edges 34 and 35 being approximately equal to the thickness of the material. Edges 33 of panel 31 also constitute fold lines between the main and wing panels, and the outwardly flared inner edges 36 of the wing panels are formed 3 by the same cut which forms side edges 22 of the long flaps 21.

In order to form the body portion or the cover portion of the container from the blank shown in Fig. 3, the

' short flaps 28 are first folded upwardly along fold lines 29 so as to be perpendicular to central panel 17. The wing panels 32 of the short flaps are then folded diagonally inwardly along fold lines 33 so as to be substantially in the vertical plane through told lines 19. The long flaps 21 are then folded upwardly along fold lines 19, so that these long flaps are also perpendicular to central panel17. It will be seen that when in this position, the wing flaps 32 will be fiush with and immediately inwardly of the outer panels 23. It will also be noted that the upper edges 35 of the wing panels will be immediately below the fold lines 26. The inner panels 24 are next folded downwardly and inwardly so as to overlap outer panels 23 and wing panels 32, the latter being disposed between the inner and outer panels. Since the distance between fold lines 25 and 26 is approximately equal to thethickness of the material, wing panels 32 will be held in flush relation between the inner and outer panels. As panels 24 are brought into their final overlapping position, edges 27 will snap into position within slots 18, thus holding the parts in secure relation. It will thus be seen that the blank is formed into a central or Web panel (panel 17) and an octagonal side wall having alternate single-ply sections (panels 31) and triple-ply sections (panels 23, 32 and 24). It will also be observed that the short vertical edges 37 at the upper ends of panels 31 will rest against the edges of the triple-ply sections between fold lines 25 and 26, thus helping to prevent buckling of the side wall sections. Finger notches 38 may be provided in the panels 31 of the blank used for the cover portion 12 to enable ready removal of the cover from the body 11.

As is best seen in Fig. 2, when the cover portion 12 is telescoped over the body portion 11 each section of the resultant side wall will have four plies of material. As stated previously, the relative dimensions of the cover and the body portions are such that these parts may not be assembled with the triple-ply sections 13 of the body portion overlapping the triple-ply sections 16 of the cover portion. An examination of Fig. 2 shows that the four plies of material in each side wall section shown in crosssection in this figure comprises the inner panel 24, the wing panels 32 and the outer panel 23 of the body, and the panel 31 of the cover portion. When a plurality of these cartons are in stacked relation as shown in Fig. 4, it will be seen that continuous four-ply side walls will be vertically aligned, thus allowing the stacking of merchandise of heavy weight. The number of containers which may be stacked in this fashion will of course depend upon the nature and weight of the material. The containers are shaped so as to easily accommodate merchandise such as coils of tubing, reels of film and similar objects. The weight of the material in each container will be transmitted from its base panel 17 to the side walls, and the forces will thus be concentrated at the strongest portions of the containers.

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 illustrate a modification of my invention having similar principles of construction and assembly to the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 4, but wherein the container is of hexagonal rather than octagonal shape. In this embodiment the blank form from which the body portion 39 or the top portion 40 is formed is of generally triangular shape as shown in Fig. 7. The blank comprises a central panel 41 of hexagonal shape which serves the same purpose as octagonal panel 17 of the previous embodiment. Three elongated slots 42 are cut out immediately inwardly of alternate fold lines 43 which form the outline of the central panel, these slots being centrally located with respect to sides 43. Relatively long flaps 44 extend outwardly from fold lines 43, these flaps having side edges 45 cut normally to the fold line. Inner and outer panels 46 and 47 are formed on each flap 44, these panels being analogous to panels 23 and 24 respectively in the previous modification. The outer edge 48 of each panel 47 is provided with a tab 49, the relative dimensions of panels 46 and 47 being such that when they overlap, tab 49 snaps into position within slot 42. Alternate fold lines 51 of central panel 41 have extending outwardly therefrom short flaps 52 comprising main panels 53 and wing panels 54 as in the previous embodiment.

The blank shown in Fig. 7 is assembled in a manner similar to that described with relation to Fig. 3, the short flaps 52 being first folded upwardly along fold lines 51 and the long flaps 44 being thereafter folded upwardly over the wing panels 54. When in assembled condition the blank will appear as in Fig. 5, with a side wall having alternate single-ply sections (panels 53) and tripleply sections (panels 46, 54 and 47). When the body portion 38 and the cover portion 39 are assembled as shown in Fig. 6, a continuous four-ply side wall will result, similar to the previous modification.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A container comprising, in combination, a body portion and a substantially similar cover portion of substantially the same depth as said body portion, said body portion comprising a central panel and a multi-paneled side wall having an even number of panels and at least six sides, said side wall of said body portion including panels having only a single ply of material and alternate panels having multiple plies of material, single ply iiitegral wings at each end of said single ply panels, said multiple ply panels comprising an outer section and a downwardly folded inner section which has the free end interlocked in a slot defined by said central panel, said inner and outer sections clamping therebetween adjacent wings of the adjacent single ply panels, said cover portion having its walls similarly formed and telescoping and overlapping said body portion with the multiple ply panels of the cover portion overlying the single ply panels of the body portion and in substantial contact therewith.

2. An octagonal container comprising, in combination, a body portion and a substantially similar cover portion of substantially the same depth as said body portion, said body portion comprising a central panel and a multipaneled side wall having eight panels, said side wall of said body portion including panels having only a single ply of material and alternate panels having multiple plies of material, single ply integral wings at each end of said single ply panels, said multiple ply panels comprising an outer section and a downwardly folded inner section which has the free end interlocked in a slot defined by said central panel, said inner and outer panels clamping therebetween adjacent wings of the adjacent single ply panels, said cover portion having its walls similarly formed and telescoping and overlapping said body portion with the multiple ply panels of the cover portion overlying the single ply panels of the body portion and in substantial contact therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,451,963 Scruby Apr. 17, 1923 1,723,149 Gannon et al. Aug. 6, 1929 1,979,245 Andrews Nov. 6, 1934 2,112,121 Sidebotham Mar. 22, 1938 2,163,017 Bei'ch June 20, 1939 2,163,060 Ray June 20, 1939 2,274,714 Levkotf Mar. 3, 1942 2,304,373 Palmer Dec. 8, 1942 2,499,780 Rottinan Mar. 7, 1950 

